Chapter 24

(**Sebastion’s POV**)

I load the gun with silver bullets, then walk back to the cell. I feel like a coward shooting an unarmed man who is behind bars. It doesn’t feel right at all. I grab the key off the wall across from his cell so I can unlock it. Before I can slide the key in the lock, Eric is at the bars with his hand on my throat. I was so distracted in my guilt that I let him get past my guard.

“If you open this door, I will kill your mate before you will have time to move. I am faster, stronger, and deadlier than you think. I have fooled you with my complacency like Vicktor taught me too.” His hold on my throat tightens, cutting off my airway. I drop the gun and the key so I can grip his arm.

“Eric, please let him go,” Irina’s voice is quiet and causes him to look at her.

“After all these years of being his slave, I am done. I would think you would understand that,” Eric’s grip tightens even more.

Aries took control long enough to break Eric’s hold so I could breathe. I stepped back coughing, my eyes locked on Irina’s as she walked forward. I watched her bend down to pick up the gun. When she stood up, she removed the safety, then pointed the gun at Eric’s head. A silent question was asked, then Eric nodded his head once and stepped back against the wall. His eyes never leaving Irina’s face.

When he was back against the wall, Irina pulled the trigger, hitting him right between the eyes. Before Eric dropped to the ground, she fired off one more round into his heart. Eric hit the ground with a thud. My ears were ringing from the shots fired in the small space. I swung my head to look at her as she lowered the gun. Holy fucking shit, she had amazing aim.

Where the hell had she learned to shoot like that?

Irina turned around, handed me the gun, then walked out of the room. I mind-linked Flint to come back down to help me clean Eric up so we can give him a proper burial. Eric may have turned into a monster, but we will bury him like a fallen warrior. He deserved more out of life than what he was forced into.

“Where is Irina?” I asked Flint when he came back down.

“Justin took her back to the mansion. Your mother told us she wanted to spend some time with your mate today.”

I was surprised, to say the least. Has my mother accepted Irina already? If so, that makes me incredibly happy. At least one female in my family is happy I have found my mate.

“Woah, when did you get to me such an excellent shot?” Flint asked as he opened the cell door.

“That was Irina.”

“Damn, better not piss her off, huh?” Flint laughed as we wrapped Eric in the sheet from the cot in the cell.

“I want to take him to the old hospital so we can clean him up. I want to give him a warrior’s burial,” I tell Flint as we finish.

Flint only nodded his head in reply, then followed behind me as I went to find the doctor that will help me. When we arrived at the hospital, I take Eric’s body in through the back door. I go to the small morgue in the basement and placed him gently on a table. Flint went to find Dr. Gregory while I waited.

“I am sorry that your life was taken from you by a greedy human and then by me. I will do everything I can to make him pay for that, I promise you.” I whispered softly to Eric. I know he is gone from this world, but he deserves something more than what he got in life.

“Who is it we have here, Sebastion?” Gregory asks me as he steps into the room with Flint at his back.

“This is Eric, he isn’t a part of our pack but I want him buried like he was. Give him a warrior’s burial and headstone,” I reply as I step away from the table.

“Who is he to you?” Gregory asks as he walks around the room to a cabinet along the wall. He pulls out a surgical gown, gloves, and a mask to do his task.

“He is a friend whose life was taken from him long ago. I want to give him the respect he never got from the one he served. Let me know when it is done and I will meet you at the Cemetary,” I tell him before I walk to Flint.

“You are becoming an honorable man, Sebastion. I will do as asked and let you know when he is ready.”

“Thank you. Flint, walk with me to my office, have Justin meet us there.”

I gave Eric’s body one last look, then left the room. I would like to find my mother and Irina, but I need to talk to my commanders first. Once we get back to the mansion, I spot my mother in the driveway with Irina. This makes me stop in my tracks as they are both laughing. The sound of her laugher makes my heart thump in my chest.

Irina looks over at me as she senses me nearby. Her blue eyes are dancing with something I have not seen in their depths before. Excitement.

“Ah, Sebastion, just in time. I am taking your mate into the village to get her some clothes to actually suite her. Then I am going to give her a small tour of the pack buildings,” Lenore looked beyond happy to have this chance. She has been wanting a daughter-in-law for years.

I flounder at what to say for a moment, then just nod my head stupidly. Irina looks at me for a moment before she walks off with my mother. Holy hell, she is in trouble with my mom beside her to go shopping. I feel a bit sorry for Irina, but after the way I saw her handle that gun earlier, I know damn well she has the backbone to handle my mother.

Flint clears his throat from behind me, jolting me out of my daze. “She will do just fine if she survives that day with your mom.”

I nod my head in response as I can’t think clearly. I follow him into the house like an idiot who was struck by lightning. What is this woman doing to me? I shake my head as we climb to the second floor where my office is. When we enter, Justin is lounging on the couch with what smells like a roast beef sandwich.

“Where is mine?” Flint asks as he glares at Justin.

Justin motions his head to my desk and says something that came out garbled around a mouthful of sandwich. Flint walks straight to the desk, grabs a sandwich off the plate, then plops into a chair. I shake my head at their antics, walk to my desk, grabbing a sandwich as I pass the plate. I sit down, take a bit of my sandwich and wait for one of them to ask the first question.

Flint is the first to break the silence, “So, what is the game plan, Sebastion?”

“Yeah, what are you planning to do about The Collectors?” Justin says before he takes another bite.

“There are way more out there than I can tell you about. This isn’t a battle for just us. There is however a network of people out there helping to free those in cages. My concern right now is to find Irina’s daughter and those in Vicktor’s collection here in the states. Then I will get with Rayne and her allies to see what we can do to take Treadstone down.”

“I have a starting point for you, tell us about Rayne.” Flint’s face grows angry as he makes that demand.

“What do you want to know?”

“Who is she and how does she know about The Collectors?” Justin chimes in as he sits up to study me.

Here we go, the question I have been dreading. Neither of them knew I found my original mate. I didn’t tell anyone about Rayne back then because I never figured I would see her again. Gia was it for me as far as I was concerned. I sighed heavily as I looked at my friends, “I met Rayne five years ago at the Moonlight Ball in Jade Moon.”

“The pack we helped recently?” Flint stood from his seat to grab another sandwich.

“Yes.”

“Is that why we rushed down there to help them?” Justin stood up to grab a drink from the mini fridge.

“Yes.”

“Who is she to you other than an ally?” Flint demanded as he placed the sandwich back on the plate. His eyes boring into mine like he knew something.

“Irina is my second chance mate,” I tell them both and let the implications of that sink in before I say the next part. “Rayne was my original mate.”

“What the fuck? You met you mate five years ago and chose Gia over her?” Flint’s voice boomed out in his anger.

“I followed my heart back then, and I payed for it when I learned the truth. I regret it, but I made a choice. I went to Jade Moon to bring her home to her rightful place. Then I ran into her while we were in Bodega Bay.”

“That was why you took off when we camped?” Justin asked me with a look of disappointment in his eyes.

“Look, I know I should have told you about all this then. I made a big mistake. When I met Rayne again, she was happy with the man of her choice. She rejected me and after Gia tried to kill me, I let Rayne go.”

“Wait, that is the raven-haired beauty that came here with the shifter?” Justin questioned me with a quirk of his eyebrow.

I laughed at his description of Rayne, “That would be her. When she came here, she asked me if I would be willing to take in people she rescued. I asked questions, and she told me about The Collectors. I have told you both everything I know now. Questions?”

“How are you planning to locate Irina’s daughter?” Justin asked all anger aside now as he looked more serious.

“I called Rayne to see if she knew of a witch that could help us with a location spell. Irina has a locket with Zasha’s hair in it we can use. I haven’t heard from them yet, but they work nights so it could be a while before I hear from them. If she has someone who can help, I will have them come to Portland to do the spell. Then we will have to move fast while Treadstone is out of the country.”

“I have one request as you move forward from now on,” Flint stated with anger still glittering in his eyes.

“To keep you informed and hold nothing else back? I know I fucked up by not telling you about Rayne and what she told me while she was here. I didn’t think it would affect us when she told me, so I didn’t share. I am sorry, Flint.”

“You haven’t shared a lot with either of us since Gia died. We are not just your friends, Sebastion, we are also your second and third in command. Justin and I deserve to be informed of **Everything** that could affect this pack. We have family here too, goddamnit!!” Flint slammed his hand down on my desk in anger. “We can’t effectively do our jobs if we don’t have all the fucking facts.”

“I have made mistakes alright!! I will not keep shit from either of you again.”

Flint stood up, glared at me in disbelief, then left the room, slamming the door on his way out. Justin just looks at me like he is thinking about what he wants to say. He is the calmer of the two as he thinks first, then he acts. He seems to be less angry about the situation with Rayne and angrier about what is going on with The Collectors.

“Where will they go when we free those in Treadstone’s cages?”

“I will ask Rayne and her group what their options are once we get to that point. She has been helping supernaturals for a few years now with her group. I am sure she will find them all places,” I tell him as I study his face. I think I know where he is going with this, but I wait until he says it.

“Can we offer some of them refuge like we did the Jade Moon pack? I know you said there are more than just werewolves, but we could help them until Rayne and her group find places for them. That seems like that best thing to do for them all,” Justin stood up from the sofa as he said the last part. “Give Flint a few hours to settle down.”

“I will think on what you said, then we can get his opinion on it tomorrow. While I have you here, I have an idea I want to run by you. I emailed Arianna about it too.”

Justin sat back down, “What do you have in mind? I assume it has nothing to do with the other stuff.”

“I want to add a recreation center and a storage facility near the pack house. The small room by the kitchen has worked for clothes, but there is more stuff that our people need that we can have on hand if we had a better place to store it.”

“That isn’t a bad idea at all. We had to keep a lot of the furniture and lumber in the trucks until we needed it. Had we somewhere to store all that stuff, we wouldn’t have to pay for the trucks for all the time we used them. What do you have in mind for the recreation center?”

“I know we use the pack house for a lot of that stuff, but we are growing and sometimes there isn’t enough space. I was thinking of an indoor pool, library, pool hall with more than two tables, and a bit more. What do you think?”

Justin put his hand on his chin for a moment, “We could use a bigger game room. There are fights over the two rooms we have already. Let’s get with Flint tomorrow after he has had time to cool down and we can get his thoughts. I like where your head is at with both these buildings.”

“I want to do all I can to ensure all our people are happy,” I tell him with a nod. Justin gave me a smile, then left me alone in my office.

Once I was alone, my thoughts went back to Irina and my mother. Goddess, I hope they don’t come back with an entire car full. My mother will shop all day if Irina will let her. With that thought in mind, I head to the guest room next to Jace’s room. That is where I will have Irina stay while she is here to respect her request for space.

**You are an idiot** Aries growls at me.

*Shut up! I am doing what she wants* I grumble at him then shut the link between us.